Sabotage Takes Star

For the first time in Star history, finalists face off in a round of Cutthroat Kitchen-inspired competition, and who better to lead the two heats of battle than Cutthroat host Alton? He announces that Bobby and frequent Cutthroat judge Jet Tila will evaluate the finished dishes — with no knowledge of the sabotages that led to them.

Spotlight On: Spice

"I'm trying to bring the funk," Aryen says of her goal for the spaghetti and meatballs challenge. After two weeks of bland dishes, she's determined to offer flavor-packed food, so she's sure to shop for plenty of spices to incorporate into her arrabbiata-inspired plate.

Cutthroat 2.0

No stranger to Cutthroat Kitchen, Chris has competed on the show before — and won. "I'm a Cutthroat champion. I have to defend my title," he says, before being gifted the first sabotage: a pasta fork taped to his hand. "I'm the Cutthroat veteran, so as soon as [Loreal] gets it, I just put my hand up, 'cause I know it's coming to me," he reveals.

Meaningful Performance

Although he's been sabotaged with a spice grinder to break down the meat for meatballs, Christopher pulls off a Bloody Mary pasta, but for him, the presentation may prove to be more important, on account of his past struggles to connect. "Christopher's really talented in the kitchen, but he really needs to bring a lot more forward with his presentations," Nicole notices. He succeeds with a story about his restaurant's famed Bloody Mary bar, which inspired his dish, and he's named the winner in his group.

Snow Meets Meat

"It just doesn't have a nice ground consistency," says Loreal of her meatball, which she's had to grind with a snow-cone machine. She attempts to hide the inferior pork with cheese and alcohol, but the judges see past her actions. "Your meatball wasn't great, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the things you did to cover it up," Alton tells her. She's among the least-successful finalists and finds herself facing potential elimination.

Red, White or Rosé?

In perhaps the fruitiest sabotage to strike the competition, Loreal forces Nicole to stomp grapes during the middle of cooking. Despite the time suck, Nicole finishes her dish: meatballs with gnocchi instead of spaghetti because she simply forgot to shop for noodles. "I would have liked to have seen a better gnocchi if that's the choice you're going to make," Bobby tells her.

Targeted Cooking

The name of the game is breakfast in the second heat, and Sarah uses her date night-focused point of view to inspire her quinoa-and-eggs plate. "In date night, I cook for a specific person," she says, explaining why she's picked out Southwestern-style ingredients for Bobby. Her challenge will be to incorporate the bacon from a sorry BLT into her finished dish.

Cowboy Letdown

"If Lenny dies, he can't compete," Lenny jokes of his rivals' presumed thoughts when Emma forces him to frantically ride a blender bicycle to make a smoothie in the middle of the round. Despite the interruptions, he finishes his dish on time and presents what he deems an "egg pie," plus a sopaipilla, the latter of which Bobby finds inedible.

Free to Work

Kenny escapes without a sabotage during the challenge and makes what he calls a take-to-go "breakfast trifle." His rival Sarah is quick to point out that it looks like "a circus of a dish," and even Kenny admits that it's "so ugly." The judges aren't impressed by his offering, and Jet questions the tie-in to his point of view.

Inspired Breakfast

Emma uses her history of traveling through the Alps to turn a potentially damning sabotage — chocolate-covered bacon — into an asset when she talks of the chocolate-Burrata sandwiches she ate on road trips. "Cream and chocolate and bacon? I'm in," Bobby tells her. Her presentation and food are so strong that she's named the winner of her group.

Better Times Before

"It was the first time in the history I think of Food Network that I spit out food," Bobby tells Lenny of his weak sopaipilla. Lucky for Lenny, the judges have seen what he's capable of cooking and are willing to let him stay in the competition.

A Bold Backfire

Aryen's plan to deliver bold food ultimately flops when the judges become overwhelmed with the heat in her pasta. Although Jet's impressed with her "warmth and direction," he explains, "I can eat as hot as you can go, and this is really hot."

Familiar Problems

Once again, Chris' performance is cut short when he runs out of time while talking. The judges question his ability to deliver a strong presentation, and Bobby says: "You change your mind in the middle of your presentations all the time. … It's really distracting, and you're not able to get your point across." Chris, too, has landed among the bottom-four finalists this week.

Not Cutting It

"You had no sabotages, and the dish was a train wreck," Alton tells Kenny, who's forced to say goodbye this week. Looking back on the contest, he explains, "To be a Food Network Star, you need an entire array of skills, and I fell short on the cooking."